As customers and as taxpayers, we all want government agencies to do their jobs well and at a reasonable cost. When we go to the Registry of Motor Vehicles, we want to get our license renewed or our vehicle registered without having to stand in line for hours the quicker the better. And, truth be told, we probably donšt want to pay a fee that covers the actual cost of maintaining the whole system of the registry, with convenient offices and short lines. We want to have our cake and eat it too: when we are paying for a car registration we want the cost subsidized by "the government"; when we are paying our income taxes (or filling out our tax forms between now and mid-April) we want to pay as little as possible and "cut the fat."
I'm sure all of us think there is fat to be cut. The trouble is getting at it. Most fat is well marbled into the muscle of useful and essential programs and services. The Romney administration has already had to admit it made at least one mistake and cut a "core" service (a support program for former patients at the state's mental hospitals). Romney also targeted particular professions: first fire all the spokespeople and lawyers. Such proposals violate collective bargaining agreements. They also ignore the specialized services provided by lawyers that are essential to departmental missions (for example, negotiating land purchases in the Department of Environmental Management). I know the importance of these services from having been on DEM's Board; but I doubt Romney or his new Secretary of Environmental Affairs do.
The administration does not give the appearance of wanting to hear from people who know the departments and services. Although the only state agency so far that has been seen to issue a "gag order" to its employees is the Department of Environmental Affairs, it doesn't take a formal warning to shut people up. Anyone who works anywhere can see spending they think is stupid, but they are afraid to point out because when the budget cuts hit, people who aren't "team players" are likely to be the first to go.
For example, the controversial new court house in Hadley. Nancy Flavin, the former state representative for Hadley who pushed for building it then chose not to run for re-election, has been named the assistant Clerk Magistrate of the Court for this courthouse. She was appointed by Bill Nagle, former Rep from Northampton and current Clerk Magistrate of the Court in Ware; the rumor is widespread that he will become the Clerk Magistrate in Hadley, so he won't have to commute so far. Yet no attorney who has work to do in the Courthouse(s), let alone any actual employee there, will criticize this blatant cronyism to the press for fear of retaliation. Is it really any surprise that many voters are angry enough to vote for anyone who seems not to be connected to the powers that be in the Massachusetts legislature?
Not that electing an outsider solves the problem: we also hear that Romney has appointed campaign aides to high-paying jobs in his administration. His cuts to local aid have disproportionately hurt poorer cities and towns, instead of the richer suburban communities where he won.
The cumulative effect of this kind of thing is to make people cynical about government in general. We want to know that our taxes and fees are paying for services that we generally support, not boondoggles. We want the decision-making process to be clear, not obscured either by powerful people we know about but can't affect or by hidden deals in the corridors among anonymous legislators. We want our votes to count.
Instead, we have a government that seems incapable of honoring any of its commitments: contract agreements with employees; user fees from State Parks and other services; services for people born with severe handicaps, etc. The long-term consequences of this behavior will be as bad as the immediate cuts. Why should anyone ever believe anything a state official says, whether it's "we will save core services" or "these fees will improve this program"?
We need the press to do a better and more consistent job covering state government so we citizens can hold it accountable.